Fort Smith Mayor, Police Chief: No Texting While Driving

The city of Fort Smith and its Police Department encouraged drivers to take a pledge to never text and drive, as the mayor proclaimed Thursday to be It Can Wait Day.

The city of Fort Smith and its Police Department encouraged drivers to take a pledge to never text and drive, as the mayor proclaimed Thursday to be It Can Wait Day.

As part of the national It Can Wait campaign, Fort Smith Mayor Sandy Sanders, Police Chief Kevin Lindsey and AT&T Arkansas Director of External Affairs Ricky Cross urged citizens to comply with Paul’s Law, which prohibits drivers of motor vehicles from using handheld wireless telephones to engage in text messaging.

Cross said AT&T wants to spread awareness of the dangers of texting while driving to as many people as possible through social media and an active campaign. Cross likened the effort to initial campaigns designed to curtail drunken driving.

"We feel like we need to get the message out there because we can, and there’s a number of ways to get it out there," Cross said.

The company has used the website www.itcanwait.com and the hashtag ItCanWait on Twitter to encourage people to take a pledge never to text and drive.

More than 100,000 crashes a year involve drivers texting, causing major injuries and deaths. Texting drivers also are 23 times more likely to be in an accident, according to an It Can Wait news release.

Cross said the campaign particularly wants to encourage parents not to text and drive, in order to set an example for their children.

Lindsey said the Police Department is hoping to heighten awareness for the campaign. The department will work overtime to catch people texting, not using seat belts or violating other traffic laws, as a supplement to normal patrol operations.

"The idea is that because of the fact that it takes drivers away from paying attention to their driving, that texting is something that we view as being unnecessary and it can wait," Lindsey said.

Lindsey added that accidents caused by texting drivers are easily preventable, and that one of the toughest things an officer must do on the job is notify a family member when a loved one has been seriously hurt or killed in a traffic accident.

Sanders said if one life is spared because of the campaign, it will be worth it.

"It’s something that all of us see," Sanders said. "Doing this today and drawing attention to it, hopefully, parents and grandparents can be reminded to have their children and grandchildren focus on not texting and driving, because it can wait."

Both Sanders and Lindsey agreed that motorists texting while driving seems to be a frequent occurrence in the city.

"When you’re driving a motor vehicle weighing a couple thousand pounds, and you’re traveling 30-40 miles an hour, with just a little bit of inattention you could be involved in a very serious accident," Sanders said.

To take the pledge, go to www.itcanwait.com, It Can Wait’s Facebook page, or text ARPLEDGE to 464329, but not while you’re driving.